Construction material



. 1,558,005 D. F INLEY CONSTRUCTION 'MATERIAL Oct. 20 1925 Filed Aug. 18. 1921 @www4 A TTORNE YS llntentetl ct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE.;

@m FINLEY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA', ASSIGNOR TO THE IARAJEFINE COM- PARTES, INC., OF SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. t

CONS'IRCQION MATERIAL.

Application ied August 18, 1921.

armoring plate of protective material apf y plied to it.

The broad object of the inventionis to rovide an armored shingle characterized y the qualities ot' increased durability and resistance to re. Another object of the inventioni's the provision of a shingle so armored as to give the qualities desired but which is not thereby rendered dilicult to apply nor unduly increased in weight, nor

.otherwise altered so as to require materially did'erent methods in packing or handling. Another object of the invention is to provide a shingle of the character describedat slightly increased cost over that of the untreated shingleand in which classes of'timber not usually considered to be adapted for shingle making may be used with success. Another object is the provision of an armored shingle which possesses allot lthe adaptability torartistic treatment ound'in the ordinary shingle.

My invention has many other objects and features of advantage, some of which the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of my invention. It is to be. understood that'I do not limit myself to the showing made by the said description, as I-may adopt variant forms of my invention within the scope of the-claim.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective view of a `shingle made in accordance with my invention, a portion thereof being'shown in section. Fig. 2 is aneleva-A tion of a ragment'of ,a shingle drawn on an enlarged scale and showing my method of interlocking the armoring plate with the wooden base. Figs. 34 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 1, but illustrate modied forms of my invention. .In the drawings, portions are shown somewhat out of the proportion in order tc more clearly indicate the nature of my invention. l

The characteristics and advantages of wooden shingles, which have given them such a wide use, are wellknown, but the Serial No. 493,344.

wooden shingle nas one' serious shortcom- 1ng,-1ts high tire hazard. Irnnaril my invention is directed to curing this elect without materially altering the other qualities of the wooden shingle which have caused its extensive use. I accomplish this purpose by applying-,to the exposed portion ot the shingle a protective mat o'r shield or plate of durable and tire-resistant material having a suitable surface 'finish which lends itself to artistic treatment. In the following description I shall use the term shingle to mean the ordinary shingle of commerce, the shake or any allied covering unit of wood. Y

The first step in producing my armored shingle is yto `dip or brush it with a bituminous compound 2 of low melting point. The excess compound clingingto the shingle 3 is then drained away or scraped cih-and the shingle passed thru a heated zone for a short period 'so-as to drive in the compound. This priming coat of low melt-l ing point bituminous compound impregnates the woodvto a small degree and` also fluxes with the much higher melting material of the protective plate 4`which is applied over it. J'Ihus being partly sunk into the wood and partly luxed with'the super-added material it locks the latter to the former acting as Ia root for the protective or armorinof plate. In the drawings I have illustrated this. penetration by extending the section lines of the priniingv coat a short 'distance into the body ofthe shingle.

The bituminous compound .forming the priming or root coat may consist of any of a wide range of materials used singly or mixed togther.` It may be asphaltum,

the compound employed'. 'Antiseptic mai terials such as creosote may als? be mixed with the compound with the ob]ect of preserving the wood from decay. Bituminous paint such as asphaltum dissolved in benzine may be used. I prefer however to use a liquid asphaltum because of its relative cheapness and good working qualities. -The grade knovvn as L oil or L asphaltum produced from California crude petroleum gives good results. A

In order to attach additionally, the armoring plate to the wood, I prefer to raise upon the' surface to be coated, barbs 6 of the base fiber as 'shown in Fig. 2. Preferably this is done after the priming coat has been applied. These projections o r barbs are conveniently formed by a suitable sharp tool driven into the surface of theI wood, and about thirtysix per square foot-` has been f7ound suflicient. Of course the barbs should be raised -in such fa ldirectionvthat they tend to prevent the coating' from sliding toward the butt or exposed end of the'shingle. Y

The armoring platek4 of protective material is next added, and preferably consists of an asphaltum produced from the refining of crude petroleum and having a penetration of'18 accordingto` the method of the American Society for Testing Materials. using the standardmeedle With 100 grams weight for ive'seconds at 77 Fahrenheit,

and having a melting point of 200 Fahren- ,tive material preferably about 1/16 of an inch in thickness is formed. It will be seen yfrom an inspection of Fig. 2, that the' ma.- terial flows aboutthe barbs 6 and into the recesses formed by the raising ofthe barbs so'that the armoring vplate is literally inter-l locked with the wooden base.

the armoring plate of materialtis extended over the butt of the shingle as shown in Fig.

1 )and under the end of the butt.

While the ,coating is still plasticand ad hesive, owingto the elevated temperature,

.' granular mineral matter is sprinkled on the surface and embedded therein' by pressure rollers. This mineral matter may be crushed slate, hint, limestone', silica, jasper, ser

pentlne, asbestos or any other material of desirable color and hardness. Such mineral matter rif of actual granular form may be conveniently of siich Asize that it will entirely pass thru a 12-mesh screen and be retained on a 2li-mesh screen. Ifof fibrous nature/,the mineral matter'should all pass thru a 7lr-mesh screen andbe lretained on a 10-mesh screen.

'As npearly shqwn in Fig. 1, I 'prefer to Preferably use coarser granular solids 7 on that portion of the butt exposed to the Weather, and liner granular solids 8 'on that portion of the armoring plate which underlies the shingle on the course above. For the finer solids the screenings from the coarser material may be fire-resistant. On exposurefto fire and a high degree of heat, `a substantial, scab-like crust is formed by the armoring plate, which protects the part beneath 'by cutting oli' access of air. The ying brand hazard is greatly reduced'by these crusts, vvhich hold the coked wood in place until it 1s reduced to ash, or by cutting off access of air smotherpthe glowing embers. Since my armored shingle tends to curl, contract or crack open under the iniiuence of fire in much less degree thanthe ordinary shingle. the penetration of fire is greatly lessened. i

`It Will also be recognized that roofs made of my armored shingles possess and preserve the individuality .in the unit shingles thru the laying of narrow and wide shingles side by side in the same course. This avoids the mechanical regularityv of the usual asphalt or asbestos shingle. It is quite obvious that the color of the individual shingles in any lot, of nominally the same color, may be varied suiciently so -that the appearance of deadness or flatnes's' is avoided.

The armored shingle offers a unique opportunityto make use since all of the portionsl with comes in contact are protected so that leach- 'ing of the fire-proofing chemicals from the wooden shingle during the wet Weather is avoided. Thus it becomes possible to im pregnate the .wood basev with chemicals to increase its fire resistance, and such. material tends to remain without being leached out fduring .the 'entire life of the shingle.

Itl will be-obvious that the mineral solid content of the bituminous vehicle of binding material maybe varied to conform ywith varyingconditiona'but whatever the variation .its primary purpose is to increase the amount of incombustible ash when de if lire-proofin f chemicals inthe woodenba of the shing e which are made fire-resistant, or which, thru melting of the armorlng material become llO which water structive heat is applied to the shingle -and to increase the resistance to lire under all conditions.

ln Fig. 3 l have shown a modified forni of my shingle in which only the butt end and that'l portion adjacent the butt. which is exposed to the weather is Covered with the arinoring plate. The priming coat V12 is applied over both top and bottom surfaces adjacent the butt as shown, and protects the under side of the shingle from the weather. No granular mattei' is embedded in the armoring plate 13. This is probably the simplest forni of my amnored shingle.

iin Fig. 4l, l have shown another modiied Aform of my invention which differs from that. shown in Fig. 1 by the inclusion of a layer oi: asbestos saturated with asphalt Within the protective or armoiing plate. 'ilhat is to say instead of incorporating the asbestos in the asphaltuin in fiber iorni a sheet of asbestos is impregnated with asphalt and applied separately as shown. ln this construction the priming coat lh is applied as already explained and the barbs are raised. @ver the priming coat l apply a mixture 1i' oit asphaltuni and crushed limestone, the asphaltum being of the general character already described. but preferably with a penetration of 15 and a inciting point ot' 175O l?. 6() parts of the asphal'tuin are mixed With il() pounds of limestone crushed to pass thru an S screen. the asphalt being maintained at aboutU a temperature of 350 during the mixing. llliilo this coating is still plastic and adhesive the asphaltsaturated asbestos sheet 18 is rolled smoothly upon it. Preferably the asbestos is passed over the butt end and for short distance on the under side. so as to secure the end ol' the sheet aesinet an Y tendency to loosen.

ly used. A vpenetration of about 18 under the conditions already set forth and ainelting point of about 200 F. Will define an asphalt suitable for this purpose. ltimay be used Without the admixture of mineral solids, but as already pointed out a greater quantity of ash is produced :in burning ii" the mineral mattei' is present. A mixture containing 80 parts o-fasphaltum and 2O parts of crushed limestone will give good results. vWhile the coating is still plastic and adhesive the surface of coarse granular matter 21 and lines 22. is added in a manner similar to that already described.

As shown in Fig. 4, the Wooden base may be a shake instead of a shingle. have used the term shingle to include any rigid Wooden base used as shingles and shakes are used. `Where the base is ot the same thickness at butt and tip, l prefer to forni my armoring coat a bit heavier at the butt end so 'that the ,armored portion at least presents a tapered section similar to that of the standard shingle.

ln Fig. l have shown another modification which dii'ers troni that slioivi'i in Fig. l. in the use if a layer with asphalt which extends from butt lo tip of the hingle on the under side, serves to resist the penetration oi i'iio tlii'zi the layers or' shingles the sible time. Atter the priming coat is applied, an adhesive coat oic mat similar to coating 1?'s descr;l ed in con ectiou with Fig. el, is api-pliedi and the asphaltsatui'atot. asbestos sheevrolled smoothly upon it.

elai ing unit com?. ising a wooden base, a priming coat of low melting point bitiuninous compound on said base, barb raised on said coated base, and an armoring Elli plate or' liioli melting `point bituminous compound united to said base by said priming coat and said barbs.

'ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

DZIER FINLEV. 

